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Prince William ends Royal Air Force stint

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William will become president of a group fighting the illegal wildlife trade

William was a pilot with the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force

He was known to his RAF comrades as Flight Lt. Wales

After more than seven and a half years of military service, Prince William is leaving the armed forces to focus on royal duties and charity work, Kensington Palace said Thursday.

William was a pilot with the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force. Known to his RAF comrades as Flight Lt. Wales, he had been stationed at a search-and-rescue base on the remote Welsh island of Anglesey since 2010, and lived there with Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

In the next few weeks, the pair will move into their official residence at Kensington Palace. The palace statement said that William is considering a "number of options" for public service.

For now, he will focus on his royal duties. He will also expand on his conservation work, dealing particularly with endangered species.

Photos:Photos: Prince William through the years

Photos:Photos: Prince William through the years

Prince William through the years – As the first-born child to the late Princess Diana and the Prince of Wales and second in line to the British throne, Prince William has never been far from the public eye. Click through the gallery for a look back at every year of his life so far.

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Photos:Photos: Prince William through the years

Prince William through the years – Prince Charles and Princess Diana leave St. Mary's Hospital in London with Prince William on June 22, 1982. A bulletin announced that the royal baby weighed 7 pounds, 1 1/2 ounces.

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Photos:Photos: Prince William through the years

Prince William through the years – Prince William takes his first steps in public with his parents in the walled garden at Kensington Palace on December 14, 1983.

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Prince William through the years – Accompanied by his nanny Barbara Barnes, Price William waves as he leaves St. Mary's Hospital after visiting his mother and his newborn brother, Prince Harry, on September 16, 1984.

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Prince William through the years – From the balcony of Buckingham Palace, a young Prince William watches the Trooping of the Color in 1985 with Lady Gabriella Windsor, left, and Lady Zara Phillips.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William waves from a carriage en route to the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson on July 23, 1986.

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Prince William through the years – Wearing a regulation school uniform, Prince William waves to the press on his first day at Wetherby School on January 15, 1987.

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Prince William through the years – In 1988, Prince Charles and Princess Diana visit Palma De Mallorca, Spain, with their two sons.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William and Prince Harry ride bicycles with their parents in 1989 while on holiday in the Scilly Isles.

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Prince William through the years – On a private beach in 1990, Prince William shovels sand onto his mother. Photos of the young prince with his adoring mother were common as media interest swelled.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William and Prince Harry wave from the deck of the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1991.

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Prince William through the years – Princess Diana and Prince William wait for Prince Harry after attending the annual Easter Sunday church service in 1992 at St. Georges Chapel inside Windsor Castle.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William grimaces after riding Splash Mountain at Disney World's Magic Kindom in Florida. He was with friends of the royal family on a three-day vacation in 1993.

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Prince William through the years – Accompanied by Prince William, Princess Diana arrives at Wimbledon before the start of the women's singles final in 1994.

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Prince William through the years – Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William and Prince Charles attend a service commemorating VJ Day outside Buckingham Palace in August 1995. The event was in honor of the day Japan surrendered to Allied forces, effectively ending World War II.

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Prince William through the years – Prince Charles and Prince Harry, at left, stand for anthems as Prince William, right, looks around during the Wales-Scotland game in the 1996 Five Nations rugby championship.

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Prince William through the years – At age 15, Prince William and his brother Harry, 12, bow their heads after their mother's funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997. Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris that August.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William receives flowers from an adoring crowd in Vancouver on March 24, 1998. He was on a weeklong vacation with his father and brother, though they also made time for official engagements.

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Prince William through the years – Britain's Queen Mother joins Prince Charles and his sons during an occasion marking her 99th birthday at her London residence in 1999.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William hammers a log while helping construct walkways in a remote village in Chile during his Raleigh International expedition in 2000.

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Prince William through the years – In 2001, Prince William, left, and Prince Harry take part in an exhibition polo match in Gloucestershire, England.

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Prince William through the years – The royal family stand vigil besides the Queen Mother's coffin at Westminster Hall on April 8, 2002. Prince William, right, stands alongside Prince Harry, Princess Anne and Sophie of Wessex.

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Prince William through the years – A London officeworker licks a first-class stamp that was issued to mark Prince William's 21st birthday in 2003. Commemorative coins were also minted for the occassion.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William makes his water polo debut for the Scottish national universities squad in the annual Celtic Nations tournament in 2004.

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Prince William through the years – In 2005, Prince William graduates from St. Andrews University in Scotland with a degree in geography.

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Prince William through the years – Queen Elizabeth glances up at her grandson, right, as she inspects the parade at the Royal Military Academy in 2006. Prince William graduated as an Army officer and later went on to receive his Royal Air Force pilot's wings

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Prince William through the years – Prince William and Prince Harry speak on stage with Sir Elton John, far left, during a concert they put on to celebrate Princess Diana on July 1, 2007. The event fell on what would have been their mother's 46th birthday and marked 10 years since her death.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William sports a beard for the first time in public at a Christmas Day church service in 2008. He was clean-shaven by early January.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William walks with a group of homeless people during a 2009 hike with Centrepoint, the United Kingdom's largest youth charity for the homeless. William became the patron of the organization in 2005.

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Prince William through the years – During his first official overseas visit, Prince William is welcomed to Sydney with a traditional smoke ceremony by local Aboriginal elder Uncle Max in 2010.

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Prince William through the years – After their wedding service, Prince William kisses his wife, Kate Middleton, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011.

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Prince William through the years – Prince William throws a foam javelin as his wife, now the Duchess of Cambridge, stands at his side during a visit to Nottingham, England, on June 13, 2012. The couple were in the city as part of Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee tour, marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

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Prince William through the years – The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge depart St. Mary's Hospital in London with their newborn son on July 23, 2013. Prince George was born a day earlier, weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces.

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Prince William through the years – Prince George and his parents celebrate his first birthday at a butterfly exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London on July 2.

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Photos:British royals In Africa

Photos:British royals In Africa

British royals In Africa – Prince Harry, left, and Prince William hold an African rock python during a visit to Mokolodi Education Centre in Gaborone, Botswana, on June 15, 2010.

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British royals in Africa – Prince William plays soccer during a visit to a child education center in Semonkong, Lesotho, on June 17, 2010. Whether it's been to strengthen political ties or to offer humanitarian aid, British royals have a long history of visiting Africa.

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British royals In Africa – Prince Harry works with children at the Kananelo Centre for the Deaf in Maseru, Lesotho, on February 27.

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British royals In Africa – The youngest son of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Edward, right, is greeted by Goree Island Mayor Augustin Senghore upon his arrival at Goree Island, Senegal, on June 6, 2004.

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British royals In Africa – Former South African President Nelson Mandela chats with Prince Philip during an awards ceremony for juvenile prisoners at Drakenstein prison outside Cape Town, South Africa, on November 5, 2000.

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British royals In Africa – Princess Diana speaks with amputees who were victims of land mines at Neves Bendinha Orthopedic Workshop in Luanda, Angola, on January 14, 1997.

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British royals In Africa – Princess Diana visits the great pyramid of Giza in Egypt on May 12, 1992.

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British royals In Africa – Princess Diana holds one of the many babies at the Kikolo health post during a visit to Luanda, Angola, on January 14, 1997.

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British royals In Africa – Prince Philip and his son Prince Andrew on a tour of Africa in 1979.

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British royals In Africa – Princess Anne sits with a group of Kenyan orphans as they watch a soccer match at Starehe Boys' Centre in Nairobi, Kenya on February 8, 1971.

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British royals In Africa – During her Commonwealth Tour, Queen Elizabeth II inspects men of the Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force at Kaduna Airport in Kaduna, Nigeria, on February 2, 1956.

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British royals In Africa – Princess Margaret waves to a crowd during her tour of East Africa on September 1, 1956.

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British royals In Africa – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrive at the Senate House in Cape Town, South Africa, where the king opened Parliament on February 26, 1947.

William's final search and rescue duty was Tuesday. "He and his crew had an uneventful 24 hour shift," the defense ministry said.

"Throughout his tour his airmanship, often in the most demanding of conditions, has contributed directly to saving lives in the mountains of North Wales and from the ravages of the Irish Sea. He has earned the respect of all who have worked with him as a highly professional and competent pilot," the ministry said.

Last year, he helped save a teenage girl who was in danger of drowning off the coast of Wales.

The 16-year-old girl was caught in a rip current and rapidly losing strength. William, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, had just landed a Sea King helicopter nearby, after going out on a routine exercise, when the alert was radioed through.

In less than a minute, he and the crew had reached the scene and a paramedic was winched down into the sea to assist the exhausted girl, who had just gone under water.

There's no suggestion that William, 31, would ever drop out of public life, but he does crave normality. The prince gets some of that from his role in the military where he's treated as "one of the guys," but he also gets it from Africa.

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Dreaming of Africa is one way that William escapes from the stresses he faces, he said.

"I regularly daydream," The Duke of Cambridge reveals in the CNN documentary, "Prince William's Passion: New Hope, New Father," which airs later this month.

"Africa is definitely one of the places I go to ... I have hundreds of animals on my iPhone. So if I am ever having quite a stressful day ... you can put a buffalo on in the background or a cricket," he says.